Box with carry handles to facilitate carrying the box

ABSTRACT

A carton for cut sheets of paper has a bottom wall, opposite side walls, and opposite end walls. An opening is in each of the opposite end walls and a carry handle is secured to an inner surface of each end wall in aligned registry with a respective opening. The carry handles have a stowed position inside the carton and an extended position outside the carton for lifting and carrying the carton. A spacer panel in said carton has cutouts in aligned registry with respective carry handles to accommodate the carry handles when in their stowed position and prevent contact between the carry handles and paper in the carton.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to boxes. In particular, the inventionrelates to a box having carry handles that are stowable inside the boxwhen not in use and, when in use, at a position outside the box tofacilitate lifting and carrying the box. In a specific embodiment thebox is a carton designed to hold multiple reams of cut sheets of paper,and spacer panels in the box provide room for stowing the handles insidethe box when not in use so that the handles do not damage the paper.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventional boxes and cartons are normally picked up and carried byplacing the hands under the bottom of the box or carton, or sometimes bygrasping straps wrapped around the box when straps are present.Conventional cartons designed for holding cut sheets of paper are formedof corrugated cardboard and typically hold 5 or 10 wrapped reams of 500sheets each. These cartons of paper weigh 50 pounds or more, dependingupon the bond rating of the paper and the number of reams in the carton.For example, a single ream of standard 20 lb. bond paper weighs 5 poundsand a single ream of 24 lb. bond paper weighs 6 pounds, whereby a cartonof 10 reams of 20 lb. bond paper weighs 50 pounds and a carton of 10reams of 24 lb. bond paper weighs 60 pounds. These boxes are relativelyheavy and difficult to handle by most consumers.

Some conventional boxes and cartons have hand holes in opposed walls tofacilitate lifting and carrying of them, but there is no space behindthe hand holes to provide access for insertion of the fingers throughthe hand holes. Cartons holding reams of cut sheets of paper normally donot have hand holes in them since the reams fit closely in the box andthere would not be room to insert the fingers through the hand holes.

Consumers wishing to purchase one or more cartons of paper typicallyeither order the paper to be delivered to their home or office location,or go to a point of sale to acquire the paper. In the former instance,even after the carton has been delivered to its destination, theconsumer generally either has to lift the carton of paper and carry itto its point of use, or lift the carton onto a cart for transport to thepoint of use and then again lift the carton to remove it from the cart.In the latter instance, when the consumer drives to a point of sale toacquire the paper, the consumer either has to lift and carry the cartonto check-out, or select a shopping cart and push the cart to where thecartons of paper are displayed, then lift the carton into the cart andpush the cart to check-out. After purchase, the consumer again has tolift the carton of paper to remove it from the cart and place it in hisor her vehicle. Upon reaching their destination, the consumer again hasto lift the carton to remove it from the vehicle and either carry thecarton into his or her home or office or place it on a cart to transportit to its point of use. This multiple lifting of the relatively heavycartons of paper from a variety of carts, dollies and shopping cartsincreases the possibility for personal injury to the consumer.

Container handling is the third largest source of injury and illness inthe private sector and is the largest source of injury and illness inthe retail trade. Boxes of photocopy paper are among the heaviest itemsthat employees are required to lift in the office. Data indicates thatmanual material handling (MMH) is among the most frequent and severecauses of injury worldwide, and 35%-40% of workplace injury costs arerelated to MMH, with 1.8 million U.S. workers experiencing work relatedmusculoskeletal disorders (WMSD's) each year.

Manual handling issues that affect the ease and safety of the liftinclude: weight of the object; horizontal location of the object;vertical location of the object; vertical travel distance;asymmetry/twisting; frequency; duration; coupling; posture; and ifmechanical contact stress is present.

Applicant's prior copending application Ser. No. 13/768,664, filed Feb.15, 2013, discloses a carton for holding reams of cut sheets of paper,wherein hand holes are provided in the ends of the carton and a spacerpanel with recesses in its ends is positioned in the carton with therecesses behind the hand holes to provide room for fingers insertedthrough the hand holes, thereby facilitating lifting and carrying of thecarton. While this does permit the carton to be lifted and carriedwithout having to place the hands beneath the carton, carry handles arenot provided and the weight of the carton must be supported by fingersinserted into the hand holes.

It would be advantageous to have a container, especially a box or cartonfor cut sheets of paper, wherein the carton has carry handles that canbe stowed inside the carton when not in use but extended outside thecarton so that the fingers can be curled around the handles tofacilitate lifting and carrying of the carton and thereby minimize theincidences of injury that occur with conventional containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment the box of the invention comprises a standardcorrugated paper carton having a bottom wall, opposite side walls,opposite end walls, and a removable lid or cover, and is designed tohold multiple reams of cut paper, but it should be understood that theprinciples of the invention could be applied to containers made of othermaterials and having other capacities and designed for other goods.

The carton of the invention has openings in opposite walls and carryhandles secured to the walls inside the carton in registry with arespective opening so that the carry handles can be stowed inside thecarton when not in use and extended through the openings for accessoutside the carton when desired. To prevent the handles from damagingthe contents of the carton when the carry handles are in stowedposition, at least one spacer panel is placed in the carton withrecessed areas or cutouts in position to receive the stowed handles. Inone embodiment a spacer panel is placed vertically in each end of thecarton between the reams of paper and a respective wall having a carryhandle secured to it, and in another embodiment a single horizontallyoriented spacer panel is inserted between the layers of paper so thatthe recessed areas or cutouts in the panel are aligned with the openingsin the walls.

The invention disclosed herein has particular utility in cartons holdingcut sheets of paper, but it should be understood that the invention isapplicable to cartons holding other objects where there is little or noroom between the contents and the carton wall and damage to the contentscould occur from a carry handle stowed inside the carton.

In the invention, the fingers and/or hands of the user can wrap aroundthe carry handle, affording a stronger grip than can normally beachieved by lifting with fingers inserted through an opening. The carryhandles provide a secure grip and control of the carton, enabling it tobe easily maneuvered and cleanly lifted and carried, thus limiting therisk of product damage and injury to the user due to accidentallydropping the carton. Further, the carry handles allow the carton to befully placed before releasing it, thus limiting the risk of productdamage and injury to the user due to intentional dropping.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing, as well as other objects and advantages of the invention,will become apparent from the following detailed description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a top isometric view of a carton having carry handlesaccording to the invention, shown in its shipping configuration withstraps applied around the carton and a carry handle in stowed positioninside the carton.

FIG. 2 is a top isometric view of the carton of FIG. 1, taken from theopposite end and showing a carry handle in extended position ready foruse.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top isometric exploded view of one end of acarton according to a first embodiment of the invention, showing one ofthe spacers.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top isometric view of the first embodiment,showing the parts in assembled relationship with a few reams of papershown in broken lines.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary top isometric exploded view, with portionsbroken away, of a second embodiment of the invention, and showing reamsof paper in broken lines.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of one end of the spacer according tothe second embodiment, showing how the spacer provides room for thecarry handle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring more specifically to the drawings, a carton according to theinvention is indicated at 10 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The carton has a bottomwall 11, opposite side walls 12 and 13, opposite end walls 14 and 15,and a lid or cover 16 covering the open top of the carton.

The carton as shown and described herein is intended for containingwrapped reams 20 of cut sheets of paper. Tie straps 17 may be placedlongitudinally and/or transversely around the carton to secure it duringshipping and storage, as shown in broken lines in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In accordance with the invention, the carton 10 has openings 30 and 31cut in its opposite end walls 14 and 15, respectively, and carry handles32 and 33 are secured to the inside surface of respective end walls inaligned registry with respective openings 30 and 31. The carry handlesshown and described herein are the so-called dog-bone type, with anelongate base member 34 having enlarged pads 35 and 36 at its oppositeends, and an elongate strap 37 having opposite ends slidably receivedthrough slots 38 and 39 in respective said pads. Enlarged ends 40 on thestrap retain the ends of the strap in the slots and prevent separationof the strap from the base. The base and pads can be made larger, ifdesired or necessary, to provide a stronger construction that is lesslikely to tear the carton when lifting force is applied to the carryhandles, especially for cartons holding 10 reams of paper. Also, ifdesired, a separate reinforcing sheet of fiberglass or reinforced paperor the like, not shown, can be adhered between the base of the carryhandle and the adjacent carton end wall.

In use, the fingers are inserted through the respective openings 30 and31 and the straps 37 are grasped and pulled out through the openings toform a carry handle as shown in FIG. 2 for lifting and carrying thecarton. When they are not needed the straps can be pushed back throughthe respective openings into a stowed position inside the carton.

In a first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 through 5, verticallyextending spacer panels 42 and 43 are inserted in opposite ends of thecarton between the reams of paper 20 (see FIG. 4) 3 and a respectiveadjacent end wall. A cut out 44 is formed in each of the spacer panels42 and 43 in aligned registry with a respective opening 30 or 31 and inpositions to provide spaces for storing the carry handles when they arenot in use. In the absence of the spacer panels, and because of thetight fit between the reams of paper and the inside surfaces of thecarton walls, the carry handles could cause damage to the reams ofpaper. The spacer panels maintain a tight fit between the reams of paperand the walls of the carton, but provide space for storage of the carryhandles so that the carry handles do not contact the reams of paper.

In a second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a single spacer panel50 is placed horizontally between the layers of reams of paper on thesame level as the openings 30 and 31. Cutouts 51 and 52 in the ends ofthe spacer panel are in aligned registry with the respective openings 30and 31 and provide space to accommodate the carry handles 32 and 33 whenin their stowed position, thus protecting the reams of paper from damagedue to contact with the carry handles.

The spacer panels 42, 43 and 50 can comprise a sheet of honeycombmaterial or other material to provide the necessary space for the carryhandles. In a preferred embodiment, the panels 42 and 43 each have athickness of about one-half inch and the panel 50 has a thickness ofabout one inch. The cut outs 44, 50 and 52 have a width and lengthadequate to accommodate the carry handle. The spacer panels 32 and 33have height and width dimensions to fit within the interior height andwidth dimensions of the carton. They may be adhesively secured to arespective carton end wall or placed loosely in the carton. The spacerpanel 50 has length and width dimensions to fit within the length andwidth dimensions of the carton. In addition to their primary purpose,described above, the spacer panels can serve to reinforce the carton toreduce damage when the carton is dropped.

Further, in drop tests conducted on similar cartons with a horizontalspacer panel, the severity of tear was substantially reduced when eithera ¾ inch spacer panel or a 1 inch spacer panel was placed in the cartonaccording to the invention. When a 1 inch thick spacer panel was placedin the carton according to the invention the average number of reamstorn was substantially reduced in both the six drop series and the sevendrop series, and the severity of tear was reduced in the six dropseries.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed in detail herein, it should be understood that various changesand modifications may be made in the invention without departing fromthe spirit and intent of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A carton for cut sheets of paper, wherein saidcarton comprises: a bottom wall, opposite side walls, and opposite endwalls; an opening in each of the opposite end walls; a carry handlesecured to an inner surface of each end wall in aligned registry with arespective opening, said carry handles having a stowed position insidethe carton and an extended position outside the carton for lifting andcarrying the carton; and a spacer panel in said carton, said spacerpanel having cutouts in aligned registry with respective carry handlesto accommodate the carry handles when in their stowed position andprevent contact between the carry handles and paper in the carton.
 2. Acarton as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said spacer panel is disposedhorizontally within said carton between layers of paper and has widthand length dimensions to fit closely within the width and lengthdimensions of the interior of the carton.
 3. A carton as claimed inclaim 2, wherein: said cut outs are rectangularly shaped and are formedin opposite ends of the spacer panel.
 4. A carton as claimed in claim 1,wherein: a said spacer panel is vertically positioned in each end of thecarton against a respective adjacent said end wall and has height andwidth dimensions to fit closely within the height and width dimensionsof the interior of the carton.
 5. A carton as claimed in claim 4,wherein: said spacer panels are secured to an inner surface of arespective said carton end wall.
 6. A carton as claimed in claim 4,wherein: said spacer panels are loosely received in said carton.
 7. Acarton as claimed in claim 3, wherein: said carry handles each comprisean elongate base member having enlarged pads on its opposite ends, saidbase member secured to an inner surface of a respective said end wall,and an elongate strap having opposite ends slidably received throughslots in the pads, enlargements on said strap opposite ends preventingcomplete separation of the strap from the base member but permitting itto be withdrawn through a said opening for access exteriorly of thecarton.
 8. A carton as claimed in claim 5, wherein: said carry handleseach comprise an elongate base member having enlarged pads on itsopposite ends, said base member secured to an inner surface of arespective said end wall, and an elongate strap having opposite endsslidably received through slots in the pads, enlargements on said strapopposite ends preventing complete separation of the strap from the basemember.